1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is a tool used in the connecting of a fiber optic cable to a ST or FC type connector. More particularly, the invention is in the same field as connector assembly tool identified as elements 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 of FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,867, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is exemplified by the disclosure found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,040,867, to which reference is made throughout and in which element numbers used in this paragraph refer specifically to those like numbered elements in the patent. FIGS. 1-3 of this application show FC connectors (threaded coupling). FIG. 2 of the aforementioned patent is a cross section of an ST type connector in which there is a factory installed optical fiber 12, awaiting abutment, alignment and fixing with a like fiber in an optical cable, such as cable 28 and fiber 30. These functions and how they are achieved are fully disclosed in the patent to which reference is made for detailed description. Suffice to say, once fiber 30 is positioned in abutting relationship to fiber 12, it is axially aligned therewith and fixed in such position by sliding slider 14 to its fully seated position and crimping crimp tube 18 after such seating. The instant invention achieves these two separate assembly steps, while maintaining an abutting relationship between the optical fiber of the connector and the optical fiber sought to be joined to the connector, with the single movement of a handle from a first to a second position. The prior art shown in the patent requires a three step operation, i.e., (1) manually holding fiber in abutting relationship; (2) seating slider 14; then, (3) crimping crimp tube 18, but only after having removed the now formed optical fiber cable 28 and connector combination from the two jawed tool disclosed in the patent. Unless fiber 30 is physically and continuously hand held in the desired abutting relationship until the crimping step is completed, undesirable results will be obtained. The present invention solves these problems.